Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Annual Report 2014

SP Paper 605 Web only Session 4 (2014)

SPCB ANNUAL REPORT 2014

FOREWORD INTRODUCTION

Timing of the Report

Membership and Portfolio Arrangements

SECTION 1 – EFFECTIVE SUPPORT OF PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS AND MEMBERS

Supporting Parliamentary Business 1.1 Referendum Bill 1.2 Digital Parliament 1.3 Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee 1.4 Officeholders 1.5 UK and International Relations 1.6 Business Continuity 1.7 Collaborative Working

Supporting Members

1.8 SPCB policies and strategies 1.9 Reimbursement of Members‟ Expenses Scheme 1.10 SPCB Questions

SECTION 2 – ENCOURAGE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PARLIAMENT

2.1 Parliament Days 2.2 Committee Engagement 2.3 Festival of Politics 2.4 Other Engagement Achievements 2.5 Major Events and Exhibitions 2.6 Scotland‟s Futures Forum

SECTION 3 – EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE

3.1 Scottish Parliamentary Service 3.2 Financial Resources 3.3 Advisory Audit Board 3.4 Security 3.5 Broadcasting and IT Services 3.6 Human Resources 3.7 Facilities Management 3.8 Equalities 3.9 Environmental Management 3.10 Health and Safety 3.11 Fire Safety 3.12 Freedom of Information 3.13 Operational Performance Report 2013-14

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Foreword by the Presiding Officer The purpose of the SPCB Annual Report is to provide an overview to Members of the Scottish Parliament of the issues the SPCB has been engaged with over the past year. This year‟s report covers the work which was undertaken from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014. Innovation has continued to be a high priority across the Parliament and the SPCB has worked to ensure that this can be supported within existing resources. The following list gives a flavour of the work of the SPCB and the topics considered during the year:

Ensuring the continued provision of services and support to Members during implementation of on-going parliamentary reforms.

Contributing to consideration of the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill in respect of the rules on publishing material during the purdah period.

Encouraging good relationships and the sharing of best governance practice with other legislatures, including providing support for participation in Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and Westminster Foundation for Democracy programmes.

Introduction of a digital programme to harness the benefits of digital working for Members, the public and the staff organisation.

Continued commitment and success in supporting equality at the Scottish Parliament through a number of innovative projects.

Re-configuration of the Main Hall and exit areas, including re-location of the Parliament Shop, improving visitor facilities and accessibility arrangements.

We have also worked hard to bring exciting major exhibitions to the Parliament building in our quest to attract visitors, both new and returning. The Great Tapestry of Scotland and Pop, Power and Politics, our highly acclaimed Andy Warhol exhibition, attracted record numbers. We are working hard to ensure that visitors leave with a wider appreciation of what their Parliament is able to offer. This year saw a change to the membership of the Corporate Body with the resignation of Mary Scanlon MSP and the election of Liz Smith MSP. I would like to take this opportunity to record my thanks to Mary for her contribution over the year and to welcome Liz to the team. My thanks to all my SPCB colleagues for their support and commitment over the year and I am pleased to present this report on their behalf.

The Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP Presiding Officer and Chair of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

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INTRODUCTION Timing of the Report This year‟s Annual Report covers the period from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014. Membership and Portfolio Arrangements At the SPCB meeting on 12 March 2014 Mary Scanlon MSP indicated her intention to resign from the Corporate Body with effect from 14 March. On 19 March, Parliament elected Liz Smith MSP to replace Mary. Liz attended her first SPCB meeting on 26 March 2014. The membership of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is currently: The Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP

Presiding Officer and Chair of the Corporate Body Linda Fabiani MSP

With responsibility for facilities, events and exhibition services Liam McArthur MSP

With responsibility for finance and officeholders Liz Smith MSP

With responsibility for business support, information and engagement strategy David Stewart MSP

With responsibility for Human Resources and technology

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SECTION 1 – EFFECTIVE SUPPORT OF PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS AND MEMBERS It is one of the key roles of the SPCB to ensure that Members of the Scottish Parliament receive the services they require to support them in their parliamentary duties. This section provides a summary of the matters considered and the decisions taken by the SPCB on providing support to the business of the Parliament and support to Members. Supporting Parliamentary Business 1.1 Referendum Bill Clerks from the Non-Government Bills Unit provided support to the Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee during its consideration of the Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Bill and the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill.

The SPCB agreed to respond to the Committee‟s Stage 1 report on the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill by lodging an amendment in Liam McArthur‟s name to address the issues raised regarding the rules on publishing material during the purdah period. The amendment was agreed by the Committee on 10 October 2013. The Bills received Royal Assent in August and December 2013 respectively. 1.2 Digital Parliament A digital programme was introduced in 2013, to harness the benefits of digital working for Members, the public and the staff organisation. The programme vision is that by 2016 you will be able to consume our services digitally, enabling you to connect, communicate and collaborate successfully with others. The Digital Parliament Team is working towards the following key objectives:- Members to receive more flexible and timely services to allow you to securely

work wherever and whenever you choose; Information to be created and managed in streamlined, reliable ways to support

digital working; and The Scottish Parliamentary Service to embrace the opportunities of digital

working: its environment, culture and capability.

In 2013/14 the focus has been on improvements in how information is managed so that it can be more easily rendered to different platforms, including mobile. At the same time the Team has been introducing quick changes to our products and services to start to make them easier to consume digitally. One of the first of the

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more agile projects was to enable Members to have better access to committee papers on their desired devices. A pilot of digital committee packs was carried out between April and October 2013, with two committees participating. This enabled improved ease of use of committee papers on tablet devices, improved navigation menus and the ability to annotate or highlight content. This development was welcomed and it has been agreed that the pilot should continue and a further five committees have now joined. In addition, a project to standardise the production of the electronic versions of committee papers issued to Members was successfully concluded at the end of March so all committee members are issued with their papers in an enhanced digital format, regardless of whether they are participating in the pilot. In early 2014 the Team consulted with over 50 Members on their expectations for digital working and began the process of designing the second wave of projects on the basis of that feedback. We anticipate further developments to products like the business bulletin and our services so that they can be consumed more easily, quickly and in more engaging ways digitally in the next year. 1.3 Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee The Committee, formerly known as the Subordinate Legislation Committee, changed its name to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee with effect from 5 June 2013 to reflect the fact that its remit was changed by agreement of Parliament to enable it to scrutinise certain Scottish Law Commission Bills. The first of these Bills, the Legal Writings (Counterparts and Delivery) (Scotland) Bill, was introduced on 14 May 2014 and was referred to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee for consideration. In evidence to the Committee, the Minister for Parliamentary Business suggested that it is the intention to introduce at least one Scottish Law Commission Bill each year. 1.4 Officeholders The SPCB continued to support six offices: Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Scottish Information Commissioner Scottish Human Rights Commission Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland Commission for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland Standards Commission for Scotland In relation to each of these offices, the SPCB is responsible for approving the annual budget; setting the officeholder‟s terms and conditions of appointment; approving any staffing determination in terms of numbers and grades; approving advisers‟ and assessors‟ fees; and approving any accommodation moves. In particular, the SPCB agreed the following:

A request from the Standards Commission for Scotland for contingency funding in respect of legal fees.

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The terms and conditions of appointment of the new Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.

That part-time members of SPCB supported bodies should continue to seek permission to the holding of any other employment or appointments. These would be considered on a case by case basis.

An amendment to the existing terms and conditions to include a provision which

would require part time members to abide by the respective Commission‟s policy in relation to conflicts of interest. Failure to do so would be deemed a breach of their terms and conditions of appointment.

The move of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland to

new accommodation. The terms of contingency funding in response to a request by the Scottish

Human Rights Commission to enable it to upgrade its IT system. During 2014 the SPCB has heard presentations from each of the Officeholders on the work of their offices and welcomed the opportunity to discuss current and developing issues. 1.5 UK and International Relations The SPCB ensures that support is provided to the Presiding Officers and other MSPs participating in outward visits and receiving inward delegations. Some of the main areas of work during this year included: Inward visits The Speaker of the Queensland Parliament, the Hon Fiona Simpson MP visited

the Parliament on 12 June 2013. As part of her visit she met with both Deputy Presiding Officers as well as members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Scotland Branch Executive Committee. Speaker Simpson also met with Assistant Chief Executive, Ken Hughes, to be briefed on security arrangements within the parliamentary campus.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), of which the Scottish Parliament is an affiliate member, held a conference of Speakers, Majority and Minority leaders, in the Scottish Parliament from 10 to 12 July 2013. The conference dealt with a wide range of topics and heard from speakers on a variety of backgrounds and represented the first occasion on which NCSL has met outside of North America.

On 29 October 2013, the then newly appointed American Ambassador to the

UK, Mr Matthew W. Barzun, paid a courtesy call to the Presiding Officer during his first visit to the Scottish Parliament. The Presiding Officer also accompanied Mr Barzun to a private viewing of the Andy Warhol: Pop, Power and Politics exhibition in the parliament.

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Malawi

Two officials from the National Assembly of Malawi undertook an internship in the Scottish Parliament during November 2013. The interns programme focussed on pre- and post-election planning as a means of assisting the National Assembly with the induction of Malawian Members, particularly new Members, following the election in Malawi in 2014. The visit forms part of an on-going 3 year programme of mutual assistance agreed between the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Malawi.

Scotland Week The Presiding Officer, Bruce Crawford MSP and Duncan McNeil MSP formed the Scottish Parliament‟s delegation to Scotland Week 2013 in the United States. The delegation undertook a wide range of activities and meetings in New York, Pittsburgh and Washington DC. During a visit to The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh the Presiding Officer signed an agreement to bring some of the artist‟s most iconic pieces to the Scottish Parliament for a unique exhibition.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) The Annual General Meeting of the CPA Scotland Branch took place on 13 June

2013. Patricia Ferguson MSP was elected to be the British Islands and Mediterranean

Region (BIMR) representative on the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Steering Group and chaired the inaugural meeting of the Group which took place in the House of Commons on 9 July 2013.

The CPA holds an annual plenary conference for delegates from across the Commonwealth. In 2013, the conference took place from 28 August to 6 September in Johannesburg, South Africa. The theme for the conference was Effective Solutions to Commonwealth Developmental Challenges. It included a number of workshops that dealt with a wide range of public policy issues. Maureen Watt MSP and Hugh Henry MSP represented the CPA Scotland Branch and Patricia Ferguson MSP attended in her capacity as BIMR representative on the CWP Steering Group.

CPA Scotland Branch, in consultation with the Scottish Youth Parliament, nominated Sian Hughes MSYP and David Linden MSYP to attend the 6th Commonwealth Youth Parliament, held in Hyderabad, India, from 20 to 26 October 2013.

The inaugural Conference of the BIMR CWP took place in the Scottish

Parliament on 16 March 2014. The Conference explored the experiences of female parliamentarians and the representation of women in politics. Around forty parliamentarians attended the conference which was organised by the CPA Scotland Branch.

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At its meeting on 27 November 2013 the SPCB reviewed its UK and International Strategy and agreed to liaise directly with the CPA Scotland Branch on work planned for the remainder of the parliamentary session to ensure consistency of approach. The SPCB also agreed that the Partnership aim of the Strategy should be expanded to make reference to the United Nations Development Programme and Inter-Parliamentary Union organisations.

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) On 11 October 2013, Liam McArthur MSP attended a meeting in Macedonia,

organised by the WFD, of the Network of Parliamentary Committees for Economy, Finance and European Integration of the Western Balkans (the „Network‟). Eight Parliaments were represented. Liam delivered a session which focused on the process of budget/financial scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament.

Six MPs from the Network took part in a two-day visit to the Scottish Parliament, on 19 and 20 February 2014, to learn more about the way the Parliament operates, how its work is governed and how it conducts oversight in its committees. The visit included meetings with members of the SPCB as well as a number of Committees.

The Convener of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, Murdo Fraser

MSP, represented the Scottish Parliament at a regional conference of the Network which considered the issues of foreign direct investment and State Aid. The regional conference took place from 3 to 4 March 2014 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Outward visits

The Presiding Officer visited Derry/Londonderry on 30 September 2013 for a trilateral meeting with the Speakers from Westminster and Northern Ireland, hosted by the city‟s Mayor in the newly refurbished Guildhall. Following that meeting and a working lunch and media interviews with the Mayor, they moved to Belfast where they were joined by Seán Barrett TD, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann for an event called View from the Chair. This unique panel session allowed each to reflect on their roles and common experiences and was hosted by The Northern Ireland Assembly Legislative Strengthening Trust in the Great Hall at the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont. It was broadcast live on the BBC Democracy Channel. A recording is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/24332802. 1.6 Business Continuity

Tests of the alert messaging system, which can be used to contact MSPs, SPS staff and contractors in the event of an incident, were successfully carried out with onsite contractors during October and November 2013. Where the test messages were not delivered, these were followed up with the recipients to identify the reasons for the problem.

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In March 2014 staff from across the Parliament took part in an exercise designed

to help rehearse how we would respond to a major incident. This exercise ran over two half-days and allowed staff to practice a range of skills such as communications – both internal and external – setting strategic objectives and also to test the procedures for activating our IT disaster recovery site.

1.7 Collaborative Working The SPCB encourages teams and individuals across the Scottish Parliamentary Service to engage with other Parliaments and organisations to share knowledge and expertise. Some of the collaborations during this year have included: Graeme Cook, Head of SPICe Research and Enquiries was invited by the

Finnish Committee for the Future to attend the annual meeting of the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment, a body which brings together bodies who advise Parliaments on the possible social, economic and environmental impact of new sciences and technologies. As well as making valuable connections with colleagues from many European Parliaments, Graeme also delivered a report on how the Scottish Parliament scrutinises climate change issues, and is working to embed sustainable development scrutiny into the work of committees. He also provided an update on the work of the Scottish Futures Forum and had further bilateral meetings with the secretariat and MPs from the Committee for the Future.

Susan Mansfield, the Head of Official Report, spent two weeks at the Hluttaw in

Myanmar (Burma) at the request of the Inter-parliamentary Union and supported by the Scottish Parliament in line with the SPCB‟s international relations strategy. She worked with the equivalent of clerking and chamber staff and their library to help them understand the importance of managing and making available parliamentary information both now and in the future. In addition, Susan specifically mapped the information flows of key types of parliamentary documentation and analysed this to make recommendations to manage this information more efficiently and effectively and to make it available more quickly and easily to MPs, Hluttaw staff and the public. She helped build capability within the Hluttaw to continue this process and was also asked to advise the Hluttaw on which documents and objects should be held by the Hluttaw Archives and Museum.

The Non-Government Bills Unit organised an event for drafters, bringing together

its own drafting panel with Scottish Government drafters and relevant officials, aimed at sharing information and improving understanding of the Bill-drafting process.

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Supporting Members 1.8 SPCB Policies and Strategies Over the period of this report the SPCB reviewed and agreed a number of policies and strategies which impact on Members and the work of the Parliament. They were: Baggage Policy (security) Flag Flying Policy Regular Visitor Pass Policy Revisions to the International Relations Strategy Updates to the Strategic Plan Revisions to the format of the Strategic Risk Register 1.9 Reimbursement of Members’ Expenses Scheme The SPCB considered a number of matters in relation to the Members‟ Expenses Scheme including a number of applications under the disability costs provision. The SPCB agreed the guidance on the existing policies and rules on the use of parliamentary resources in respect of referendum related campaigns and material, subject to the inclusion of references to comply with the Code of Conduct for Members. 1.10 SPCB Questions There are a number of ways in which Members are able to question the SPCB and hold it to account. We would always encourage any Member to approach an SPCB member directly with a query but Members can also lodge questions formally for written answer or for answer as part of a SPCB Question Time in the Chamber. During the period of this report the Corporate Body hosted three question times in the Chamber, in June, November and March, responding to 20 oral questions in total. The topics included: ensuring that people with a sensory impairment can take a full and active part when visiting the Parliament or attending external events; building maintenance work; the reductions in energy usage across the parliamentary campus; progress on promoting sustainable travel; and security. In addition, the SPCB responded to 20 written parliamentary questions over the year, on subjects including: lodging fees for objections to private bills and fair trade products. Copies of the oral and written PQs answered by the SPCB can be found on the Parliament‟s website: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/MotionsQuestionsAndAnswers.aspx

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SECTION 2 – ENCOURAGE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PARLIAMENT The SPCB is committed to enabling the public to engage with and participate in the business of the Scottish Parliament. This section sets out some of the activities put in place to facilitate this during the past year. 2.1 Parliament Days The Parliament Day initiative continues to be a popular part of the Presiding Officer‟s reform programme with a further three being held during the period of this report: Stirling in June and Arbroath in November 2013, and Dumbarton in February 2014. Staff from across the Parliament worked together to ensure the success of each Parliament Day. Teams from Security; Committee Office; Outreach Services; Events; Official Report; Broadcasting; Visitor Services; and Media Relations were involved in the preparation for and implementation of the series of committee meetings and local events which aimed to encourage participation by local people. Stirling The focus of Stirling‟s Parliament Day was the engagement activities linked to the Health and Sport Committee„s health inequalities inquiry. Deputy Presiding Officer Elaine Smith MSP and Bruce Crawford MSP undertook a programme of visits to local groups and organisations. As part of the overall programme, a regional pilot of the Understanding and Influencing Your Parliament Communities Conference was held on 22 June, attended by 93 delegates from the local voluntary sector. There was local and social media coverage in the run up to and after the event as well as on the day. Almost 700 people visited our webpages on Parliament Day. On Twitter, tagging of the organisations visited was particularly successful, with a number of re-tweets from those involved. Arbroath Arbroath‟s Parliament Day was centred around the Finance Committee‟s scrutiny of the proposed Scottish budget for 2014/15. The formal meeting was well attended and saw the Committee take evidence from John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth. Local secondary school pupils enjoyed budget-themed outreach education sessions in the week before the event, and sixteen organisations attended workshops which allowed local business people to have their say on the proposed budget. The Presiding Officer, accompanied by Graeme Day MSP, visited a number of local organisations before attending a networking lunch held at Dundee and Angus College, making the Presiding Officer one of the first visitors to the new college.

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Dumbarton The theme for Dumbarton‟s Parliament Day was the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee‟s scrutiny of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. This was the first time that Bill scrutiny has featured as part of a Parliament Day. The Committee began with a Q&A session with pupils from Dumbarton Academy before holding an informal meeting with tenants, residents groups and representatives of housing associations to gather information and views to feed into the formal meeting. Later in the afternoon the Committee met with West Dunbartonshire Council‟s elected representatives and officials. As part of the programme of local visits the Presiding Officer and Jackie Baillie MSP found out all about fictional Shieldinch from BBC Scotland‟s River City which is filmed in Dumbarton. There was a chance to see live filming taking place and to discover more about the impact River City has had on the local economy. 2.2 Committee Engagement Parliamentary Committees have been supported in using a range of methods to encourage greater participation in their work. Examples include: A large number of committees have their own twitter accounts and have

successfully used these to increase engagement with their work.

The Welfare Reform Committee held an informal meeting in Glasgow with a number of witnesses directly affected by welfare reform. Members also visited the six local authority welfare reform pilot projects across Scotland.

The European and External Relations Committee conducted a series of visits to

schools and held a major conference of stakeholders to inform its inquiry on language learning in schools. In addition, committee videos were used at strategic points in the inquiry to generate engagement on social media.

The Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee undertook fact-finding visits

in relation to its community transport inquiry and produced short videos and posters to help publicise the inquiry.

The Education and Culture Committee held a major event in the Parliament,

where key organisations and children with experience of care discussed various key questions in relation to taking children into care. Many of the report‟s findings originated from this.

The Health and Sport Committee held an Ask the Cabinet Secretary session

where questions submitted by stakeholders and the public via social media and the Parliament‟s website were put to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being.

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2.3 Festival of Politics The 9th Festival of Politics took place from 23 to 25 August 2013. The theme for the 2013 Festival was Scotland’s Place in the World. Sessions were hosted in the Members‟ Restaurant and Committee Rooms whilst the creation of a Festival Café Bar in the Garden Lobby provided a real festival feel and a space where people could continue with their discussions and debates or relax and enjoy live music, comedy and chat. The SPCB welcomed the success of the revised format of a shorter, sharper and more focused Festival. Over the three days, 4,500 people attended festival sessions or visited the Festival Café Bar which represents a 50% increase on 2012‟s attendance. Ticket sales were also up, with 88% of all tickets sold and a number of events sold out. 2.4 Other Engagement Achievements The SPCB is committed to supporting the Parliament in encouraging and expanding public and stakeholder engagement. A number of developments have been made as part of its Public Engagement Strategy, including: Twitter and Facebook

The Parliament‟s Twitter account now has more than 21,000 followers and our Facebook page over 3,000 likes. Early February 2014 saw our biggest social media response to date to the tweet and video package the Web and Social Media Team produced on the Equal Marriage Bill. We received 700 retweets and our Facebook post, which included our video package, had a reach of over 12,700 (Facebook reach comprises all engagement with the page through likes, shares and views). The post also received over 500 likes, comments and shares.

The corporate @ScotParl Twitter account ran a daily feature on Your MSPs, with links each day to a particular MSP and their corporate MSP webpage and including Twitter details if available. There are now more than 100 MSPs with Twitter accounts.

Happy to Translate The Happy to Translate initiative, approved by the SPCB, was launched to MSPs on 26 September 2013, the European Day of Languages, and 25 MSPs showed an interest in using the scheme. Through the use of a recognisable logo and specialist tools and training, Happy to Translate aims to help bridge the communication gap between organisations and people who struggle to communicate in English. More information about Happy to Translate is available from the Scottish Parliament‟s webpages. Visitor Services

August to October 2013 was a very busy period due, in the main, to the temporary exhibitions held in the public areas. Comparing the period August to

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October 2013 with the same period in 2012 shows an increase of over 20,000 visitors (or 22%) to over 119,000 visitors.

The Parliament Shop moved to its new location in September 2013 and enjoyed

another successful pre-Christmas period, with sales for November and December 2013 of over £50k, exceeding the same period last year by 13%.

Visitor Services launched a new speciality tour in November. The Literature Tour

focuses on the Scottish Parliament‟s literary links with Scotland, through the artworks on display and connections to the history of the surrounding area. This joins the Parliament Tour, the History Tour and the Art Tour, all designed to appeal to new and repeat visitors. The new tours are advertised in the external and public areas of the building, digitally on the Parliament‟s website and through electronic mailings through our external partners.

2.5 Major Events and Exhibitions

Events and exhibitions held either inside the building or in the landscaped area continued to be a key element of supporting engagement with the Parliament. The SPCB is responsible for approving a programme of major events and exhibitions each year and managing the resources required to facilitate it. Some of the highlights during this period included: World Press Photo Exhibition For the 8th year, the Parliament hosted the World Press Photo exhibition from 30 July to 25 August 2013. The exhibition, which attracted 27,000 visitors, represented 54 photographers of 33 nationalities. Again the Parliament was the first UK venue to display these winning press photography images, as well as being the only Parliament to host them. The Great Tapestry of Scotland The Great Tapestry of Scotland was unveiled to the public on 3 September 2013. The exhibition, the longest tapestry in the world at 143 metres, tells the history of Scotland from the ice age to the reconvening of the Parliament in 1999, over 420 million years of Scottish history in beautiful embroidery. A number of events were held to support the exhibition including a Stitcher‟s Preview which was attended by more than 600 people who had helped to stich the tapestry; a preview reception hosted by the Presiding Officer; and keynote lectures given by author and project chair Alexander McCall Smith and artist Andrew Crummy. Visitor numbers to the Parliament over the three week exhibition were over 37,000 and the Parliament Shop income benefitted, recording sales in excess of £27,000 compared to £6,700 for the same period the previous year. The Great Tapestry was as popular with the media as it was with the public, with a feature secured on the BBC‟s One Show.

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Andy Warhol: Pop, Power and Politics exhibition On 4 October 2013 the Presiding Officer hosted a media launch for the Andy Warhol: Pop, Power and Politics exhibition. The exhibition was on display from 5 October to 3 November 2013 and featured many artworks displayed in Scotland for the first time. It included portraits of Andrew Carnegie, Her Majesty the Queen and a portfolio about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The main lender was The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.

The exhibition secured coverage in a diverse range of media, including the LA Times, the front page of the Financial Times and both EasyJet and Ryanair‟s inflight magazines. It attracted over 22,000 visitors during its four week run and received much positive feedback.

Andrew Carnegie: International Legacy: Shaping the Future events The Andrew Carnegie International Legacy: Shaping the Future series of events took place from 12 to 17 October 2013 and made extensive use of the parliamentary campus. Highlights of the week included a lecture given by Eric Shiner, Director of The Andy Warhol Museum looking at Andy Warhol‟s life and work titled Consumption x Production; a series of 6 public seminars debating many aspects of Andrew Carnegie‟s legacy - ethics, world peace, science, education, libraries and philanthropy; a pre-Awards dinner co-hosted by the Presiding Officer; and the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Ceremony, held in the Debating Chamber.

Andrew Carnegie: Legacy that changed the World exhibition The Presiding Officer hosted the media launch for the Andrew Carnegie: The Legacy that Changed the World exhibition on 15 October. The reception was attended by nearly 200 people, mainly delegates from the Andrew Carnegie International Legacy programme along with Members and heritage and culture representatives. The exhibition, which ran from 15 October 2013 to 25 January 2014, explored the wide international philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie and featured 30 loaned exhibits from a number of libraries and museums from across the world.

PoppyScotland On Wednesday 30 October 2013 the Presiding Officer hosted a Garden Lobby Reception for Members, veterans, and representatives from the Royal British Legion Scotland to launch PoppyScotland‟s Annual Poppy Appeal. George Wylie artwork New works by artist George Wyllie MBE (1921-2012), acquired for the Scottish Parliament‟s own collection, were unveiled by the Presiding Officer and went on public display during week commencing 17 March until 21 June 2014. Contemplace is a variation on a Scottish throne, with references to the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Stone of Destiny. A maquette for the Berlin Burd sculpture and

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associated works on paper were also on display, along with some loans from the Wyllie family and Wyllie Foundation. 2.6 Scotland’s Futures Forum The SPCB created Scotland‟s Futures Forum in 2005. It is constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee. The SPCB is the sole “Member” of the company but does appoint a Board of Directors which includes the Presiding Officer, Aileen McLeod MSP, Alex Johnstone MSP and Siobhan McMahon MSP. The Forum aims to help Members, along with policy makers, businesses, academics, and the wider community of Scotland, look beyond immediate horizons to some of the challenges and opportunities we will face in the future. Looking beyond the electoral cycle and away from party politics, the forum seeks to stimulate public debate in Scotland, bringing fresh perspectives, ideas and creativity on how we might prepare now for the future. Highlights over the last year included: A one-year-on report on embedded learning from the major project By 2025,

Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation. The launch of an academia and civic led programme to support Wellbeing in

Scotland. Enhanced Forum support for MSPs and Parliamentary Committees with

contributions from high quality speakers at events, seminars and Committee Inquiries.

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SECTION 3 – EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE 3.1 Scottish Parliamentary Service The SPCB reviews and agrees a Strategic Plan, Organisational Performance Framework (OPF) and risk register for the Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) on an annual basis. The Strategic Plan is published and we receive quarterly OPF reports from the Chief Executive (CE) on progress. These are also published as part of the regular CE Reports to the Corporate Body. The summary OPF report for quarter 4 of 2013/14 is included at the end of this section for information. The headcount at the end of March was 475, with a turnover rate of 6.95%. The turnover figures include retirement and normal resignation. A copy of the organisation chart is available on the intranet. 3.2 Financial Resources We have prepared separate annual accounts for the 2013/14 financial year that comply with the accounting principles and disclosure requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual. The Auditor General for Scotland has audited these accounts and they were laid before the Parliament on 1 October 2014. A summary of the expenditure is set out below.

SPCB Expenditure for the 12 Months Ended 31 March 2014

Actual

£m

Budget

£m

Variance (note

1) £m

Net Revenue Expenditure (Note 2) 66.4 68.3 1.9

Capital Expenditure (Note 3) 4.9 3.7 (1.2)

Total Revenue and Capital Expenditure in 2013-14, excluding

capital charges and exceptional items

71.3 72.0 0.7

Capital Charges (Note 4) 12.6 13.3 0.7

Total Expenditure in 2013-14, including capital charges and

exceptional items

83.9 85.3 1.4

Notes Note 1: We continue to live within our budget. Our net revenue expenditure on staff, property and administration costs in 2013-14 was £66.4m, £1.9m less than the

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available budget. Of the £1.9m difference from budget, £0.3m represents lower funding requirements in the year for Commissioners and the Ombudsman, £1.0m lower take up of expenses to budget for members costs and the remaining variance of £0.6 relates to Parliamentary Service costs. Note 2: Net revenue expenditure of £66.4m in 2013-14 included parliamentary staff salaries of £22.0m and MSP salaries of £11.1m. Members' costs, which enable MSPs to secure staff and accommodation to assist them in the discharge of their parliamentary duties, were £12.4m including £0.4m on financial assistance for registered political parties. A further £8.1m was expended on funding the salaries and running costs of the Commissioners and Ombudsman. The remaining £12.8m relates to the administration and property running costs of the Parliament and is net of £0.8m gross income from shop sales and events.

Note 3: Capital expenditure in 2013-14 of £4.9m comprised £1.3m on IT software, work in development and hardware with £0.4m on equipment and £3.2m on construction of the External Security Facility. Note 4: Capital charges are required by the Government Financial Reporting Manual to reflect the depreciation in value of assets and other non cash costs. The charge for depreciation for 2013-14 was £10.1m. Other non-cash items in 2013-14, amounting to £2.5m, include a net charge for pension finance and auditor‟s remuneration.

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Financial Assistance for Registered Political Parties Under the Financial Assistance for Registered Political Parties Order 1999, the registered political parties in the Parliament are entitled to monies to assist their Members to carry out their parliamentary duties. The resource accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2014 include costs of £442k under the terms of this Order. Payment Performance Our policy is to comply with the Confederation of British Industry‟s Prompt Payers Code. The target is for payment to be made within agreed payment terms or 30 days of receipt of invoices not in dispute for goods and services received (see table below for performance). Average payment performance achieved for 2013-14 was 99.6% (2012-13 was 99.4%).

Efficiency As reported previously, the SPCB has committed to reduce its budget in line with the real-terms reduction in the Scottish Budget over the period of the UK Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). By the SPCB‟s 2013-14 budget this has resulted in a cumulative 12.5% reduction in real term savings compared to a 10% reduction in the Scottish budget in the same period from 2010-11. This drive to improve efficiency has been achieved against a backdrop where the demands on the Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) have remained strong.

99.2 99.4

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

100

2011/12 2012/13

Payment Performance%

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3.3 Advisory Audit Board A key responsibility of the Advisory Audit Board (AAB) is the review and scrutiny of the SPCB‟s annual accounts. Following its work, the AAB recommends the accounts to the SPCB prior to the accounts being signed by the Principal Accountable Officer. In addition to its work on the accounts, the AAB advises the Principal Accountable Officer and the SPCB on the effectiveness of corporate governance, risk management and internal controls by considering reports by the external auditors (Audit Scotland) and commenting on and, where necessary, informing the internal audit approach. The AAB met five times in the year ended 31 March 2014 to provide guidance and assurance on the SPCB‟s governance, risk management and internal control arrangements. Following its August 2014 meeting, the AAB recommended that the SPCB formally approve the 2013/14 Annual Accounts. The AAB further recommended that the accounts and the governance statement be signed by the Principal Accountable Officer. Two of the three independent members of the AAB – Ian Robertson, Chair and Kevin Sweeney will leave their posts on 30 September 2014 so a recruitment exercise to find their replacements began in March. George Thorley MBE and Isobel Sharp CBE were selected to join the Board which comprises Jean Couper CBE, who will take over as Chair in September, and two SPCB members, Linda Fabiani MSP and Liam McArthur MSP. 3.4 Security For the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, the following items were retained by Access and Control Officers at the public entrance from visitors to the Parliament. The visitor is provided with a ticket for their item, which is held until the visitor has concluded their visit. Items that can be carried legally in a public place in Scotland are returned to the visitor on production of the ticket on leaving the building. 151 scissors 1,471 knives 119 sharp objects (corkscrews, screwdrivers etc.) 134 others (whistles, banners etc.) These figures are published quarterly for Freedom of Information purposes. 3.5 Broadcasting and IT Services Data Captioning (subtitling) for First Minister‟s Question Time As an innovative development of the Scottish Parliament‟s You Tube Channel, staff from the Broadcasting Office, in conjunction with the Equalities Manager, have brought captioning to First Minister‟s Question Time videos. The feature means that users of the You Tube Channel can read the text of the Official Report as subtitles whilst watching the video, significantly improving the accessibility. It is believed that this development is currently unique amongst UK legislatures and staff from the

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Broadcasting Office and the Official Report Office will continue to collaborate to ensure that the video of FMQs, complete with subtitling, is available by Friday mornings. The video without subtitling is currently available on Thursday afternoons and the Official Report of FMQs will remain available on our website by 2.30pm on Thursdays.

Members‟ Web Application The Business IT Office developed an application for Members to use on their websites which displays their last ten parliamentary speeches, questions, motions and votes. The application can be tailored to provide any combination of the four information sources (speeches, questions, motions and votes) and provides links to further relevant information on the website. 3.6 Human Resources The SPCB believes that it is essential that the Parliament and the public have confidence at all times that the personal political beliefs and opinions of staff will not affect (or could not be reasonably perceived to affect) the discharge of their official duties. This requirement is equally applicable in the context of the Independence Referendum. As such, and in recognition of the distinct issues that may be raised by a referendum campaign, the SPCB agreed that a Referendum Code providing clarity as to the standards of behaviour expected of staff was published in October 2013. This code serves as a temporary extension to the main staff Code of Conduct. 3.7 Facilities Management This has been a busy year for the Facilities Management Team with a number of high profile projects being completed during the period of this report, including:

Creation of a new exit from the Main Hall; Relocation of the Parliament Shop; Installation of swipe access on the lifts and stairwell door on the ground floor

of the MSP building to improve security and accessibility; Installation of a new cycle gate at the Vehicle Entry System; Relocation of the Parliament‟s permanent exhibition to the space previously

occupied by the shop; and Installation of holdbacks on the lift lobby fire doors in the MSP building.

In addition, a number of maintenance projects were carried out:

Off-site testing and re-installation of new roof access posts for the MSP building;

Replacement of the Tower 4 window which was damaged due to high winds in early 2013;

Creation of a hard-standing area in the MSP garden to accommodate chairs and tables;

Relocation of coffee machines in the Garden Lobby Restaurant to improve the flow of customers through the server;

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Routine maintenance works on the timber louvres and windows; Refurbishment of the crèche.

The SPCB continues to support initiatives aimed at reducing the catering subsidy level. In the year 2013-14 we began offering a lunch service within the Queensberry House lounge to all passholders during the recess periods as well as closing the Members‟ Restaurant at these times. We also continue to encourage the use of the Members‟ Restaurant for MSP sponsored events in the evenings which is proving popular. 3.8 Equalities The past year has seen a continuation of the SPCB‟s commitment and success in supporting equality at the Scottish Parliament. The improvement plan within the SPCB Equality Monitoring Report 2012/13 outlines the initiatives conducted. Notable projects in support of equality include: As detailed earlier in this report, a pilot project introduced a new captioned

version of First Minister‟s Question Time to increase access to Parliamentary proceedings to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Due to the success of this pilot, the service will be extended to include further debates covering a range of areas.

The SPCB worked closely with contractor organisations working within the building to encourage best practice in the delivery of their equality policies. As part of this initiative, contractors attended SPCB Equality and Diversity training and were advised on how best to conduct equality monitoring and equal pay audits. This initiative has highlighted to contractors that all who work within the Parliament building should be expected to respect the values of the Scottish Parliament.

The Modern Apprenticeship programme was launched in 2013 appointing two young people into the Scottish Parliamentary Service. The modern apprentices have worked in a wide range of corporate and parliamentary business areas to enable them to maximise their experience at the Scottish Parliament. Overall, the scheme has had a positive impact on the organisation and the intention is to expand the scheme further in the year ahead.

This year the SPCB signed up to the National Autistic Society‟s Access Autism Award to ensure that its services meet the needs of people with autism who wish to engage with the Parliament. A working group has been set up and various projects are underway to meet the Award including the delivery of autism training for staff; establishing autism champions and offering better information on the Scottish Parliament‟s website to assist people with autism who want to visit the building. The aim is to achieve the award by October 2014.

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3.9 Environmental Management

This year saw the organisation‟s achievements continue to reflect the SPCB‟s commitment to demonstrating best practice in environmental performance and to act sustainably. The SPCB agreed a Carbon Management Plan in 2010 which was subsequently updated in April 2013. By March 2014 carbon emissions had been reduced by 30% ensuring we remain on course to achieve our target to reduce emissions by 42% by 2020. Improvements in our environmental performance have been achieved through implementation of the Carbon Management Plan and the RACE (Real Action on Carbon Emissions) programme. In addition the Parliament continues to maintain an environmental management system certification by external audit to ISO 14001:2004 and meet the requirements of the Certified Emission Measurements and Reduction Scheme for our carbon management plan. The SPCB is working towards its policy to support bio-diversity by hosting two colonies of honey bees in the MSP garden.

Targets 2013/14

Target Results

Carbon Emissions

Reduce carbon emission from the 2005/2006 total by: 28% 30%

Electricity

Reduce electricity consumption from the 2005/2006 total by: 28% 30%

Gas

Reduce gas consumption from the 2005/2006 total by: 9% 34%

Water

Reduce water consumption from the 2011/2012 total by: 10.5% 9%

Waste

Reduce landfill waste from the 2005/2006 total by: 70% 68%

Paper

Reduce total paper consumption by:

35% from the Session 2 total during Session 4 (2011-2016). (Result - session average reduction 46%)

39%

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3.10 Health and Safety The SPCB operates a health and safety management system (HSMS) to ensure legal compliance and enable the continuous improvement of its health and safety performance. The following key actions were taken during 2013/14:

The annual review of first aid provision for the Scottish Parliament was

completed; An annual summary paper on fire safety and occupational health and safety was

presented to the Leadership Group to facilitate a senior management review of the HSMS and health and safety performance;

The document which sets out the organisation‟s responsibilities for health and safety was reviewed;

An internal health and safety audit process and audit plan were introduced; A Health and Safety Steering Group was established to carry out strategic

oversight of the HSMS, Health and Safety Policy and Fire Safety Policy; Key performance indicators for occupational health and safety and fire safety

were agreed by the Steering Group; The on-going programme of health and safety training was delivered; and A health and safety e-induction course was developed and approved. 3.11 Fire Safety A number of planned fire evacuation exercises were carried out during the period of this report, each focussing on different areas of the parliamentary campus. These exercises are important in evidencing our compliance with fire safety legislation but more so in testing our systems and procedures in a realistic environment to ensure they are fit for purpose. In particular, evacuation exercises provide training to ensure occupants understand emergency evacuation procedures, including Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans. During 2013/14 we had 12 false alarm incidents, 2 fewer than the previous year, with 50% of these calls caused by contractor failures. These resulted in 9 „Unwanted Calls‟ to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. None of the incidents occurred on a Parliamentary business day. During the year 463 building occupants undertook the annual fire safety training which focussed on Emergency Evacuation. In addition, further fire-specific training was delivered to 37 Sodexo staff and 12 new Security staff. 3.12 Freedom of Information The SPCB continued to support openness and accessibility by publishing as much information as possible. Between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014 we received 200 freedom of information (FOI) requests, 8 requests for reviews and 1 appeal was made to the Scottish Information Commissioner. This compares to 179 FOI requests, 4 requests for reviews and 2 appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner in 2012/13.

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Since 1 April 2013 quarterly statistics have been provided to Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner who has requested this information from all public bodies in Scotland. During this reporting period the Information Governance Team replied to the Scottish Government‟s consultation regarding proposed changes to the lifespan of FOI exemptions and contributed to a workshop on FOI best practice at the Scottish Information Commissioner‟s conference in May 2013.

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Introduction

The SPCB‟s strategic plan for 2013-16 retained the overall strategic direction of the organisation set out in the 2012-16 plan and was reviewed to reflect our priority plans and strategies for 2013-14. The Organisational Performance Framework (OPF) is a mechanism to measure performance and plays an integral role of strategic governance comprising high level strategic performance indicators whereby we seek to improve accountability and performance.

Over the course of the year, quarterly OPF reports have been reviewed and agreed by the Leadership Group (LG) and the SPCB, measuring performance of our 4 areas of success set out in the strategic plan – Parliamentary Business, Members, Public and the Parliamentary Service. The purpose of the annual report is to provide an overview of performance during 2013-14; how we have demonstrated success through our key operational activities and deliver our plans and strategies to improve our activities whilst successfully managing and mitigating associated risks.

Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

Parliamentary Business

Performance Measures for 2013-14 / How we have demonstrated success

All parliamentary business has taken place as planned1. This has included:

Extensions to plenary business and late changes to business External Committee meetings across Scotland as well as meetings taken forward as part of

Parliament Days (including a formal meeting in the evening) A wide variety of informal fact-finding visits, events and other committee outreach work A sub-Committee regularly meeting over lunchtime

1 Committee business was disrupted on 17 April 2013 due to a power failure in the Edinburgh area (outwith Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) control) affecting 2 Committees. Although the power failure lasted 40 minutes, business was temporarily suspected for only 6 minutes in total (4 minutes in 1 committee, 2 in the other) whilst onsite contingency arrangements took effect.

Plans & Strategies

Support Parliament in implementation of parliamentary reform – The SPS supported the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee conduct a review of parliamentary reform following the implementation of major changes to the format and timetabling of parliamentary business in September 2012. After a full year of operation, the review commenced in October 2013 and was published in January 2014. Overall, the committee concluded that the reforms have been successful in creating a more responsive and agile Parliament. The committee agreed to consider further the flexibility of the new rules on committees meeting at the same time as the Chamber, in a separate piece of work.

LG have considered various options for further investigation in relation to developing the Parliament as an institution. The issues being discussed include building on access to the Parliament; promoting engagement in Parliamentary business and encouraging the interest of young women in politics. LG will continue to engage and support the Presiding Officer to look at future opportunities for improvement and develop proposals.

ü

3.13 Operational Performance Report 2013/14

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Support committees to implement Conveners Group Programme for Change - Committees and Conveners Group have been supported in taking forward a number of initiatives, these include: making improvements to the design and presentation of committee reports, with the focus now switching to the content and whether reports are fit for purpose in terms of impact, influencing and accessibility; holding the first of what is intended to be an annual session with the Conveners Group and the First Minister on the Scottish Government‟s legislative programme; improving engagement with the work of committees and piloting the use of digital working through the use of committee packs.

Effective response to changes in Parliament’s powers - The Referendum Planning Group was set-up to co-ordinate all matters relating to the Parliament‟s role in the Referendum as well as prepare for the support of

Parliamentary services that will require to be delivered post Referendum regardless of the result. The Group‟s

early work to change SPCB policies to reflect the use of parliamentary resources in the run up to the Referendum is proving robust while its current focus is on managing the anticipated media interest in the Parliament building either side of the ballot.

Effectively manage the construction, commissioning and handover of the External Security Facility

(ESF) – The ESF was operational from August 2013 and the new exit was completed in October 2013. High project performance and robust monitoring regimes were maintained throughout and the project was delivered on time and within the total budgeted costs of £6.48m. Project closure was agreed by the SPCB in November 2013. The main objective of the project was achieved as the new facility provides a significantly safer and more secure environment for screening on entry to the building.

Parliamentary Business Cont’d

Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

Members

Performance Measures for 2013-14 / How we have demonstrated success

Members Survey Feedback

During the year, 56 Members provided their views on how well the SPS supports them in fulfilling their parliamentary and constituency/representative duties. Overall, feedback remained consistent throughout 2013-14 with Members overwhelmingly of the view that the SPS provides a high quality service; of the 56 Members, 55 were either satisfied or very satisfied with services at Holyrood and 54 satisfied or very satisfied with services to support local offices. Some Members stated that they had no concerns or issues. Where Members made suggestions for improvement, these have been passed to the relevant business area to act upon as appropriate. We have also identified common issues or suggestions for development and, while these were not in significant quantities, remain valuable in enabling us to fulfil our ethos of continuous improvement.

Very Satisfied 34 (61%) Satisfied

21 (37%)

Dissatisfied 1 (2%)

Parliamentary Role

Very Satisfied 22 (39%)

Satisfied,32 (57%)

Dissatisfied 2 (4%)

Constituency Role

Very Satisfied

Satisfied

Dissatisfied

Very Dissatisfied

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Members Cont’d

Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

Plans & Strategies

Develop and deliver a Member focused IT Strategy - Good progress has been made during 2013-14 with the delivery of a Member focused IT strategy. The progress has been accomplished through project work and improvement activities surrounding existing services.

Notable achievements made during 2013-14 include:

Mobile Refresh – after successful introduction of new policies to improve the choice of mobile technologies available to Members, the Business IT Office successfully introduced a broad range of tablets, smartphones and laptops. Feedback from Members has been positive towards the change in policy and suggests that the anticipated benefit of increased productivity due to ease of mobile working is being realised.

Holyrood Wireless Network – The introduction of public wi-fi within the Holyrood estate has attracted positive feedback from the public, Members and other building users and has helped facilitate new ways of working.

Local Office Connectivity – Early in the year work was successfully undertaken to ensure local offices had the best broadband service available at their location. This was followed up latterly with the introduction of new technologies to accelerate data transfer through the broadband connections. In addition, the Business IT Office, working with their telecoms supplier, have started piloting new connectivity technologies not dependent on the public broadband network.

Case Management Pilot – A pilot project has been set up to evaluate a potential candidate for a standard Case Management Tool to replace the current disparate toolset utilised by Members in their local offices. This pilot has progressed well and the original pilot group of Members have provided positive feedback resulting in the extension of the pilot by a further 6 Members. Feedback to date suggests that the tool being used meets the needs of the Members involved and the pilot will report during 2014-15 when a decision to will be taken as to future rollout.

Local Office Telecomms Cost Reduction Investigation – After a short investigation undertaken by the BIT Office, a route was established to reduce the telephone charges incurred by local offices. The investigation concluded and handed over to the Procurement Office for further action.

MSP Engagement Manager – the Business IT Office capitalised on a vacancy occurring to improve the customer focus and engagement with Members, by reengineer a vacant post. The reengineering allowed Business IT to recruit a MSP Engagement Manager who has been successful in improving understanding and engagement with the primary customer group of the BIT Office.

System Tuning and Optimisation – During the year, both the email system and remote access system were tuned and optimised to better meet Members needs. Benefits realised from these exercises include improved performance and increased mailbox sizes for Members.

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Members Cont’d

Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

Ensure services continue to enable and support Members effectively - As the performance measures reported above indicate, Members are overwhelmingly satisfied with the services provided. Where common suggestions have arisen, we have tackled them, or propose to tackle them as set out below:

Improvements in the services provided to Members include the IT improvements described above. We have also restructured the Human Resources function to provide better support to Members, and HR staff are proactively engaging with Members on a number of issues such as staff cost provision tracking and staff contract returns.

A series of well-received pilot courses covering aspects of parliamentary business and skills development, were delivered for the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programme for Members. Work is ongoing to plan future courses with the focus on having a fully worked up CPD programme for the beginning of Session 5.

Factors leading to

satisfaction:

Provision of a high quality service

Provision of good advice and guidance

Ability to address and resolve problems

Prompt response when dealing with requests

High standard of customer care

Emerging themes &

suggestions for development:

Remote access and connectivity issues in constituency offices

The level of support and responsiveness provided to the parliament building is not replicated in local offices

Develop staff management training

Review induction arrangements for new Members

Refining policies, processes and systems where appropriate

Action:

Installation of broadband acceleration technologies and commenced evaluation and testing of private network links in local offices

Examine service levels in local offices to improve or better communicate them to Members

Introduction of the Continuous Professional Development programme for Members

Project group for the election 2016 programme to consider feedback and incorporate where appropriate into planning arrangements

Maintaining a culture of creativity, innovation and continuous improvement

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Members Cont’d

Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

Deliver a digital Parliament - LG agreed strategy papers on both Information Management and Digital Working in June 2013 and agreed to combine them into one programme. Initial project work on the programme was focused on laying the foundations for future progress and the initial business case focused on a number of projects to do this. That business case along with the vision, objectives and methodology for the programme were agreed by LG in December 2013.

A new programme SRO was appointed in 2014 and undertook a review of the programme to date and started scoping and planning for further delivery of the programme objectives alongside resourcing required for delivery of the remainder of the programme. This planning for the next wave of projects is based on Members‟ and staff

experience of our products and services.

Existing projects which are seeking to improve the creation and use of information more effectively for digital working (Documents and Records Management, Data Architecture) are progressing well to timetable.

Projects looking at the channel shift from print to digital by default were initiated. A Business Publications options appraisal has progressed to plan. This is concentrating on the future of our print and publishing. The digital documents project identified new processes for the use of bookmarked PDF documents being produced in a consistent manner and by the end of the reporting period was about to roll out across all committee areas for use in Committee packs as well as being used to support meeting papers for SPCB, LG and Conveners group. The Paper Smart project has also kicked off with the objectives of reducing paper usage at Holyrood.

Public

Performance Measures for 2013-14 / How we have demonstrated success

The Scottish Parliament:

Encourages people to get involved in issues affecting them

Is open about what the Parliament is doing and the decisions it makes

Makes an effort to reach out about the Parliament‟s work to all of Scotland

Helps build an understanding about the Parliament‟s role and work

There was strong performance across all four composite KPIs on public engagement. For example, in the 'participation' KPI, notable were the 23,583 young people who benefitted from the education programme, our target was 17,000. In the 'understanding' KPI, 91.3% of those surveyed at Parliament Days had a broad understanding of the work of the Parliament, the target was 30%.

ü

ü

ü

ü

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Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

The Parliamentary Service

Performance Measures for 2013-14 / How we have demonstrated success

1.1% Outturn against SPCB budget for financial year was within target range of 0 – 2.5% under SPCB budget

Efficiency targets delivered as planned

Strategic activities on track

Compliance monitoring report on track1

Planned strategic risk mitigating actions are being implemented2

1 Identified minor issues during the course of the year which have now been resolved.

2 LG monitors and reviews the strategic risk register on a quarterly basis. We continue to identify and manage the principal risks to our activities and the controls and actions that have been designed to mitigate these. Specifically, we have recognised and continue to take action to ensure that the Parliamentary service is able to respond to changes in the Parliament‟s powers. In addition, we have identified the risk of failing to realise the full benefits of the Digital Parliament Programme. Furthermore, by way of our Business Continuity management arrangements, we continue to manage the impact on supporting Parliamentary business in the event of the absence of a significant number of staff.

Plans & Strategies

Develop and deliver learning and development to support strategy – To align learning and development priorities with strategic organisational objectives, annual plans will now be produced to ensure that there is greater transparency in our approach to corporate training, this will ensure we build capability to respond to changing business needs while still developing skills to meet the core demands on the parliamentary service. The first learning and development plan was implemented during quarter 2 and is now business as usual.

Public Cont’d

Plans & Strategies

Implement the engagement strategy – We continued to develop public engagement through our plans and activities, targeting different sections of the public, particularly those who are hardest to reach either for geographic or socio-economic reasons. To help people find out more about the Parliament; improve their knowledge about how to engage and the opportunities to do so, a strong focus remained on Parliament Days, which are now a well-established part of parliamentary life. Further developments included:

The implementation of a Public Information Strategy Work on providing open data has been aligned with the Digital Parliament Programme Committees are using a greater range of ways to engage with the public, particularly our priority groups Twitter is now used by 11 committees in addition to the corporate account

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

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Organisational Performance Framework

Annual Report 2013-14

The Parliamentary Service Cont’d

Maximise innovation and continuous improvement - Proposals to adopt a more streamlined approval process for the funding of project expenditure for „innovation and continuous improvement‟ were approved in

March 2014 and an initial amount of £250k has been set aside in the SPCB‟s 2014-15 budget. The Innovation Fund was formally launched in May 2014.

Implement the information management strategy – LG agreed in June 2013 that the Information Management Strategy and Digital Parliament should be managed under a single programme. Please refer to “Deliver a digital Parliament”.

Develop and deliver organisational agility – An organisational agility framework was developed with the aim of supporting staff to attain the necessary skills, experience, knowledge and competencies that are required to deliver the SPCBs‟ objectives now and in the future. The framework will support our capability to respond to changing business needs while maintaining business continuity; meet individual staff needs; resourcing peaks and troughs of the parliamentary cycle within the agreed financial cap and simplify our business processes. The first annual framework was implemented in quarter 3.

Develop proposals for income generation - A research and feasibility study was conducted into use of the Members‟ Room resulting in a specific proposal for a commercial events approach as a clear driver to increase

revenues. The SPCB agreed to pilot the Members Room as a dedicated commercial events venue on Fridays, Saturdays and during recess for 6 months from October 2014. Thereafter, the SPCB will decide whether to continue with the initiative. A dedicated team will manage operations and initiate sales whilst taking steps to ensure the reputation of the Parliament is protected.

During the building of the new ESF, the Parliament Shop was relocated to a more suitable, prominent location with the aim to reduce the subsidy and make a modest cash surplus. Trading during 2013-14 has improved on prior years. Contributing factors included: capitalising on popular visiting exhibitions such as the Great Tapestry and Warhol; showcasing new quality Scottish products; discounted shopping promotions and improved retail offer.

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ISBN

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